Autonomy

Another driver of human behavior is autonomy.  Those who are driven by autonomy like to feel they are in control and in charge.  Generally they don’t like to be told what to do or how to do it.  If you’ve ever been micromanaged, you’ve experienced reduced autonomy.

Leaders who want to support their employees’ need for autonomy must give them the freedom to make choices, especially when they are part of a team or working with a supervisor.  Presenting people with options, or allowing them to organize their own work and set their own hours, creates less stress than forcing them to follow rigid instructions and schedules.

The more choice you can give employees, the higher the perception of autonomy.  Perhaps you can’t offer flexibility in setting work schedules; however you may be able to set core hours everyone is expected to work, with flexibility built in on the front end or back end of the day.  Invite your employees to be part of setting their own goals, when they plan to achieve them and how they will achieve them.  The choices themselves may be insignificant; it is the perception of autonomy that matters.

As a team or group leader, the statement “Here are two options that could work, which would you prefer?” will elicit a better response than “here’s what you have to do now”.  Sound policy establishes the boundaries within which individuals can exercise their creativity and autonomy.  Policies should enable individual decision making without consulting leaders.  Decisions are made within guidelines of the policies.

A study was done about why people started their own business through a franchise.  The number one reason people were leaving corporations was for work-life balance.  The reality is most running their own businesses, many times for less money, worked much longer hours than they had worked for their old employer.  However, they perceived they had a better work-life balance because they had a greater scope to make their own choices.  Keeping this in mind can minimize losing your best people to the lure of running their own business.

If this is your driver, be aware that you might say no to things simply because they are not your idea.  You may also need to remember to give other people the opportunity to choose from time to time.  Find ways to create more choice, even if you have to stick within defined parameters.  Ask where you can have clear autonomy so you can exercise this.  Watch out for tasks where you have to follow others orders precisely.

As we age we don’t lose our desire for autonomy.  Think about children ages 4 – 10.  Depending on the child’s mood, telling them what to do is a quick way to get a “no” response (followed by defiant folded arms).  Asking a child to choose between two healthy foods, two different shirts, two different toys, two options for play, can turn a potential tantrum into choice and decision.  We never seem to lose our desire for options.

What have you done to create choices among your team?  How do you create the sense of autonomy throughout your organization?  Have you seen any backfire from this approach?  Leave your comments below.

To print this or any other post, click the first icon in Share the Knowledge below.